IdeAM: A Serious Game to Foster Creativity in Additive Manufacturing

IdeAM functions as a serious game designed to mitigate cognitive biases and stimulate creative problem-solving within the specialized field of additive manufacturing. By integrating the DICE framework with fourteen distinct technical opportunities inherent to additive production, the game provides a structured environment that encourages designers to move beyond conventional constraints. The primary thesis posits that gamified mechanics, when paired with technical prompts, significantly improve both the quality of design solutions and the user’s ability to leverage the unique complexities of additive manufacturing compared to traditional brainstorming techniques.

The effectiveness of this approach is supported by experimental data involving thirty-three students, where participants utilizing the game consistently outperformed a control group across all measured metrics of creativity and technical viability. The game employs a science-fiction narrative, collaborative competition, and hypothetical prompts to foster engagement and technical knowledge. These findings indicate that the structured, immersive nature of the game successfully facilitates the generation of innovative solutions that are both technically advanced and well-suited for additive manufacturing processes.

While the current study confirms the efficacy of IdeAM in an academic setting, the scope remains focused on student cohorts and physical gameplay. Future development efforts are directed toward expanding the demographic reach, transitioning the platform into a digital format to support remote collaboration, and refining evaluation metrics to ensure long-term scalability. By bridging the gap between creative ideation and technical execution, this initiative offers a robust framework for enhancing design proficiency in the rapidly evolving additive manufacturing sector.